INSIDE THE NBA: Sam Smith takes you around the league

Bulls' Rx: Pow from Pau

Grizzlies' Gasol may be available and would complement Wallace

November 27, 2006|By Sam Smith

So you take Ben Wallace and throw in Ben Gordon and a first-round pick and . . .

Just want to get that out there first. Nah, the Bulls aren't about to trade Wallace, though this signing has the early earmarks of disaster with Wallace drawing a line in the sand with coach Scott Skiles in Headbandgate. (I actually hate that every scandal gets a Watergate suffix and promise never to use it again). I didn't see anyone second-guessing the signing when it occurred, so it would be hypocritical to condemn it now.

What the Bulls need to do is provide some help for Wallace, assuming they can work out this power play between their second-highest-paid player ever and their most successful coach since Phil Jackson.

It's clear Wallace is not the player the Bulls expected, but he's not done yet either. If not a force, he can be a good piece. It appears, though, he needs some offense along the front line so he can come off the weak side more to rebound and regain his enthusiasm. The Memphis Grizzlies long have said Pau Gasol is untouchable, but maybe he isn't so much anymore.

There were reports this weekend that the Boston Celtics had interest in Gasol. There were also whispers in recent weeks that Gasol's floating timetable to return from foot surgery is more about concern with the uncertainty surrounding the Memphis organization. The Grizzlies are up for sale, with general manager Jerry West and coach Mike Fratello probably gone after this season.

The word around the organization is that the team can't win with Gasol after being shut out in the playoffs the last three years, so a deal is inevitable. Plus, with Hakim Warrick, Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry, the latter injured now, looking like good, young pieces, it's probably a good time for the Grizzlies to make a commitment to rebuild. Their season is almost lost already after a poor start.

And no one has more pieces for rebuilding than the Bulls.

The future is now for the Bulls because of Wallace. It's not likely his large and long contract could be traded at his age, so you've got to put together a team to win with him now. Plus, the East has never been more wide open and the Bulls still could get to the Finals. They've shown the last two seasons they finish stronger than anyone.

Without damaging their core, the Bulls could offer the first-round pick they can swap with the Knicks (though they'd have to keep it as overall protection if Greg Oden is available and have some alternative), Chris Duhon and Tyrus Thomas. P.J. Brown probably would have to go along to make the numbers match. Because Memphis figures to have a very high lottery pick of its own, it would have two first-round picks in what looms as a great draft, plus the highly regarded Thomas and a point guard. They'd have a nice young roster, though some names could change in the deal, and the Bulls would have a 7-foot inside scorer--if not a true back-to-the-basket player--to complement Wallace's defense and to give Gordon more room with interior play.

There, I solved it again.

Baby Bulls growing up

His team is off to a solid start and he's a monster on the boards. He still can't make a free throw, shooting 36 percent, but he's averaging almost 12 rebounds per game and in the last week had games of 18 and 16 rebounds.

"It feels good," says Tyson Chandler. "I'm learning every day. I show up every day and am happy. I say, `C'mon, coach, let's go, teach me some stuff.' I'd lost that. I thought it could have gone right for me and Eddy [Curry with the Bulls], but it wasn't the right situation."

Curry is here Tuesday with the struggling Knicks, and the Bulls are in Oklahoma City on Friday to play Chandler's Hornets. The failed Curry-Chandler pairing is the story of the team's most recent past.

The Hornets have been one of the pleasant surprises of the season. A major part has been their young big guys. But they've also gotten nice hustle contributions from two other former Bulls, Linton Johnson, averaging 4.4 points and three rebounds, and Jannero Pargo, averaging six points in 14.9 minutes after 19 and 13 points the last two games.

"You learn from losing what not to do," said Johnson, who played for the 2004-05 champion Spurs. "To go from the worst team in the league to a champion, you see what it takes, the chemistry a team needs, looking at a Bruce Bowen and how meticulous he is and prepares and plays his role. You have a role on the team and you don't go outside that. Then you see [in New Jersey] the superstars, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and how they handle it and you take all these guys and get something from them and try to build on that with what you can do. It's a great opportunity for me."